Automatic operation of a wireless device based on physical speed

ABSTRACT

A wireless device operates in an operating state determined as a function of the wireless device&#39;s physical speed. In some implementations, the wireless device determines the physical speed using a GPS (global positioning system). If the wireless device determines based on the physical position and/or physical speed that the user is driving an automobile in a region in which using a wireless device is not permitted while driving, then the wireless device automatically disables device features. However, if the user is actually a passenger, then the user may over-ride the automatic disabling of device features. In some implementations, the wireless device also informs other wireless users that communication is inappropriate or impossible. In some implementations, the wireless device also informs a communications node to process communications directed to the wireless device.

RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation application of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/552,802 filed Oct. 25, 2006, the entire contentsof which are incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

The application relates to wireless communication, and more particularlyto operation of wireless devices.

BACKGROUND

Wireless devices may provide users with a variety of communicationabilities such as email and telephony. The ability to communicate usinga wireless device while away from home or office has made wirelessdevices very convenient for users. However, in some instances, it may beinappropriate or unsafe to operate a wireless device. Many users talk ontheir wireless device while driving, which can be a safety hazardbecause the user is distracted from their driving. A hands-free set isan existing solution that allows a driver to have both of their handsfree for driving. However, this solution may require installation in avehicle and can still distract a driver. Therefore, a hands-free set isnot always an appropriate solution.

In addition to safety concerns associated with operating a wirelessdevice while driving, there may be legal concerns. Some states andcountries have specific laws with respect to using a wireless devicewhile driving. A user may be unaware of these specific laws, especiallyif the user travels into another state or country. There may also bepotential liability concerns if the user is conducting business whiledriving during company time and using company resources.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments will now be described with reference to the attacheddrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic of an example wireless device coupled to aparameter measurement system;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example method of operating a wirelessdevice as a function of the wireless device's physical speed;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example method of enabling or disablingwireless device features as a function of the wireless device's physicalspeed;

FIG. 4 is a schematic of a network in which a set of communicationsdevices are coupled to a communications node;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of an example method of communicating statusinformation to a communications node;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method of accessing the statusinformation based on the permission information;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example method of automatically processing arequest based on the status information;

FIG. 8 is a schematic of an example wireless device coupled to anexample communications node;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example method of instructing thecommunications node to process communications;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example method of processing communicationsin the communications node;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example method of determining an operatingstate based on the wireless device's physical speed;

FIG. 12 is a schematic of an example wireless device coupled to anexample communications node;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example method of communicating anindication of physical speed to a communications node so that thecommunications node may determine the operating state of the wirelessdevice; and

FIG. 14 is a flowchart of an example method of determining the operatingstate based on the physical speed of the wireless device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

According to a broad aspect, there is provided a method comprising:determining a physical speed of a wireless device; and allowing thewireless device to operate according to an operating state, theoperating state being one of a plurality of possible operating statesand being determined as a function of at least the physical speed.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: communicating theoperating state to the wireless device, the wireless device controllingoperation of the wireless device in accordance with the operating state.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises at least one of: a)processing communications directed to the wireless device in accordancewith the operating state of the wireless device; and b) disablingcommunications from the wireless device in accordance with the operatingstate of the wireless device.

In some embodiments, determining the physical speed comprises: acquiringtwo position measurements; and computing the physical speed of thewireless device as the difference between the two position measurementsdivided by a time interval between the two position measurements.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving informationfrom an automobile, the automobile having a substantially identicalphysical speed as the wireless device, the information being used todetermine the physical speed of the wireless device.

In some embodiments, the automobile communicates the physical speed tothe wireless device via BT (BlueTooth) communication.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: communicating to acommunications node an indication to process communications directed atthe wireless device at least until the operating state is changed.

In some embodiments, the status information comprises at least one ofthe operating state, an indication of whether the wireless device isable to process communications, physical position, and physical speed.

In some embodiments, the status information is associated withpermissions so as to allow a set of wireless users to access the statusinformation while disallowing all others from accessing the statusinformation.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: communicatingpermission information to the communications node, the permissioninformation used by the communications node to determine permissions forthe status information.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: receiving informationof physical position in respect of wireless coverage zones, theinformation being used to determine the physical position of thewireless device.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises: maintaininginformation useful for determining the operating state of the wirelessdevice as a function of at least the physical speed and the physicalposition of the wireless device, the information beinggeographic-specific; determining the operating state based on at leastthe physical speed, the physical position, and the maintainedinformation.

In some embodiments, the respective set of device features comprises atleast one feature that would require attention by a user of the wirelessdevice if the at least one feature was not disabled.

In some embodiments, the respective set of device features comprises atleast one of telephony, direct dialing, telephony without a headset,Internet browsing, electronic messaging, voice call without a wiredheadset, voice call without a wireless headset, composing emails,reading emails, dialing a phone number using digit dial, dialing a phonenumber using voice activated dialing, dialing using speed dial, sendingor receiving instant messages, typing notes in applications, using amapping application, unlocking a device, and any feature using wirelesscommunication.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a wireless devicecomprising: a wireless access radio adapted to communicate with awireless network; a parameter measurement function adapted to determinea physical speed of the wireless device; an operating state functionadapted to allow the wireless device to operate according to anoperating state, the operating state being one of a plurality ofpossible operating states and being determined as a function of at leastthe physical speed.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a communicationsnode comprising an operating state function adapted to: determine aphysical speed of a wireless device; and allow the wireless device tooperate according to an operating state, the operating state being oneof a plurality of possible operating states and being determined as afunction of at least the physical speed.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a methodcomprising: determining a physical position of a wireless device;automatically disabling a set of device features of the wireless deviceas a function of at least the physical position of the wireless device;and receiving user input from a user of the wireless device, the userinput enabling at least one device feature of the set of device featuresthat has been automatically disabled.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a wireless devicecomprising: a wireless access radio adapted to communicate with awireless network; a parameter measurement function adapted to determinea physical position of the wireless device; an operating state functionadapted to automatically disable a set of device features of thewireless device as a function of at least the physical position of thewireless device; and a user interface adapted to receive user input froma user of the wireless device, the user input enabling at least onedevice feature of the set of device features that has been automaticallydisabled.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a method in acommunications node comprising: receiving status information of awireless device, the wireless device being one of a plurality ofcommunications devices; maintaining privilege information, the privilegeinformation indicating a subset of the plurality of communicationsdevices that are allowed to access the status information; and allowingaccess of the status information to the subset of the plurality ofcommunications devices; wherein the status information comprises atleast one of an indication of whether the wireless device is able toprocess communications, an operating state, physical location, andphysical speed.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a communicationsnode comprising a status information function adapted to: receive statusinformation of a wireless device; maintain privilege information, theprivilege information indicating a subset of a plurality ofcommunications devices that are allowed to access the statusinformation; and allow access of the status information to the subset ofthe plurality of communications devices; wherein the status informationcomprises at least one of an indication of whether the wireless deviceis able to process communications, an operating state, physicallocation, and physical speed.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a method in acommunications node comprising: receiving status information of awireless device; receiving a request to communicate with the wirelessdevice; and automatically processing the request based on the statusinformation; wherein the status information comprises at least one of anindication of whether the wireless device is travelling, an operatingstate, physical location, and physical speed.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a communicationsnode comprising a status information function adapted to: receive statusinformation of a wireless device; receive a request to communicate withthe wireless device; and automatically process the request based on thestatus information; wherein the status information comprises at leastone of an indication of whether the wireless device is travelling, anoperating state, physical location, and physical speed.

According to another broad aspect, there is provided a computer readablemedium having computer readable instructions stored thereon forexecution on a processor so as to implement any of the methods describedabove.

Wireless Device & Physical Parameters

Referring now to FIG. 1, shown is a schematic of an example wirelessdevice 10 coupled to a parameter measurement system 19. The wirelessdevice 10 is coupled to the parameter measurement system 19 throughcoupling 18. The wireless device 10 has a processor 12 coupled to awireless access radio 11, an operating state function 13, a plurality ofdevice features 14, and a parameter measurement function 15. Thewireless device may have other components, but they are not shown forsake of simplicity.

In operation, the wireless device is adapted to operate using manydifferent device features 14. There are many possible device features14. Device features 14 may for example include telephony, electronicmessaging such as email, Internet browsing, etc. Some of the devicefeatures 14 may utilise the wireless access radio 11 for communicationwith a wireless access network (not shown). The operating state function13 is adapted to determine an operating state for the wireless deviceand to operate the wireless device 10 in accordance with the operatingstate thus determined. The operating state function 13 determines theoperating state based on a physical speed of the wireless device. Thephysical speed of the wireless device can be determined using anyappropriate method, and particular examples are given below.

An “operating state” of the wireless device generally refers to anystate of operation in which the wireless device operates in a certainmanner. In one embodiment, each operating state has a respective subsetof the device features 14 that are enabled while the remaining devicefeatures are disabled. Some device features may be enabled in a firstoperating state while they are disabled in a second operating state.Furthermore, the wireless device may perform various actions in thefirst operating state while performing no actions in the secondoperating state. A change in the wireless device's physical speed maytrigger a change in the operating state. There are many possibleoperating states that can be defined in an implementation specificbasis.

In some implementations, the operating states are defined so as tosatisfy appropriate operation and/or legal requirements. For example,there may be a requirement for wireless device users to cease using thevoice capability of their devices while driving. In such a scenario, ifa physical speed of the wireless device is detected that is indicativethat the user is driving, the operating state becomes one that hasdisabled voice capability of the device, thereby preventing the userfrom using that feature.

There are many mechanisms that can be implemented to allow the wirelessdevice 10 to determine its physical speed. In the illustrated example,the parameter measurement function 15 determines the physical speed ofthe wireless device in cooperation with an externally located parametermeasurement system 19. In some implementations, the parametermeasurement system 19 is a position measurement system, capable ofdetermining or participating in the determination of physical positionof the wireless device 10. GPS (global positioning system) is an exampleof a position measurement system. In another implementation, parametermeasurement system 19 is integral to wireless device 10, such as anonboard GPS device.

In some implementations, the physical speed of the wireless device 10 iscomputed based on the physical position. There are many ways that thiscan be accomplished. In a first example, a difference between twophysical position measurements is divided by a time interval between thetwo measurements.

In some implementations, the operating state is determined based onmeasurements that reflect both the current speed, and recent speed. Inan example of how this might be employed, if a user is driving and stopsat an intersection, the instantaneous speed of the vehicle and thewireless device may be zero, but the user is still driving. Therefore,by calculating the physical speed based on past position measurements,the wireless device can determine a non-zero value for the physicalspeed. This may be implemented for example by computing a moving averagefor the physical speed. In doing so, abrupt changes in speed do notseverely affect the computed physical speed.

In other implementations, the parameter measurement system 19 isimplemented as part of an automobile. An automobile may be adapted tocommunicate the vehicle's physical speed to the wireless device 10. Ifthe user of the wireless device 10 is inside the automobile, then thephysical speed of the automobile will be substantially identical to thatof the wireless device 10. There are many ways that an automobile may beadapted to communicate the physical speed to the wireless device 10. Ina first example, the automobile and the wireless device 10 are BT(BlueTooth) enabled and use BT communication to communicate the physicalspeed. Other wireless or wired implementations are possible.

The embodiments described use a wireless device's physical speed todetermine an operational state for the wireless device. In otherembodiments, the physical speed in combination with one or moreadditional parameters are used to determine the operational state. Forexample, any other kinematics parameter describing motion such asdirection of motion, physical position, physical velocity, physicalacceleration, or physical surge may be contemplated. There are manypossibilities for representing the kinematics parameters. For example,physical position may be represented using two variables (e.g.x-component, y-component) when representing a geographical position. Asanother example, physical position may be represented using threevariables (e.g. x-component, y-component, z-component) when representinga position in space such as when a measurement of altitude is to beconsidered. More generally, each kinematics parameter may be representedusing one or more appropriate variable.

The wireless device may determine such additional parameters by anyappropriate manner. Example implementations for determining physicalposition in connection with determining physical speed have beendescribed. In another example, the wireless device determines itsphysical position based on cellular network coverage zones. A cellularnetwork has a plurality of coverage zones, which are position-specific.Therefore, the wireless device may determine its physical position basedon its present coverage zone. Physical acceleration and physical surgemay be determined based on one or more computed time derivatives ofposition and/or speed.

In the illustrated example, the components shown may be separate,combined, or partially combined. The coupling of components shown ismerely an example and other arrangements are possible. The operatingstate function 13 and the device features 14 may be separate orcombined. In some implementations, the operating state function 13 andthe device features 14 are implemented as software for execution on theprocessor 12. More generally, the operating state function 13 and thedevice features 14 may be implemented as software, hardware, firmware,or any combination thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 2, shown is a flowchart of an example method ofoperating a wireless device as a function of the wireless device'sphysical speed. This method may be implemented on a wireless device, forexample by the operating state function 13 of the wireless device 10shown in FIG. 1. At step 2-1, the wireless device determines thephysical speed of the wireless device. As previously discussed withreference to FIG. 1, there are many ways that the wireless device maydetermine the physical speed. At step 2-2, the wireless device operatesin an operating state determined as a function of the physical speed.

Enable/Disable Device Features

Referring now to FIG. 3, shown is a flowchart of an example method ofenabling or disabling wireless device features as a function of thewireless device's physical speed. This method may be implemented on awireless device, for example by the operating state function 13 of thewireless device 10 shown in FIG. 1. At step 3-1, the wireless devicedetermines its physical speed. At step 3-2, the wireless deviceautomatically enables or disables certain features of the wirelessdevice based on the physical speed. If at step 3-3 the user of thewireless device over-rides the automatic disabling of device features,then at step 3-4 the wireless device enables a feature that has beendisabled.

There are many possible device features that may be disabled. Forexample, telephony, direct dialing, telephony without a headset,Internet browsing, and electronic messaging may be disabled. Devicefeatures may be separately disabled or disabled in combination withother device features. In some implementations, each device featuresusing wireless communication is disabled by disabling communication viathe wireless access radio of the wireless device. This may beaccomplished for example by turning off the wireless access radio. Otherexample features that may be disabled or inforced include voice callswithout a wired headset, voice calls without a wireless headset,composing emails, reading emails, dialing a phone number using digitdial, dialing a phone number using voice activated dialing, dialingusing speed dial, sending or receiving instant messages, typing notes inapplications, unlocking a device, and shutting off the wireless accessradio. Another example feature that may be disabled or enforced is usinga mapping application to follow a route, enter an address, or look up apoint of interest.

In the above example, the user is given the opportunity to over-ride theautomatic disabling of device features. In an example of where thismight prove useful, if the user is a passenger in an automobile and thewireless device automatically disables telephony upon detecting adriving speed, then the user may over-ride the automatic disabling oftelephony in the event that the user wants to use the wireless devicefor telephony. In another example of where this might prove useful, if auser is in a train and the wireless device automatically disablesfunctionality upon detecting a driving speed, then the user may manuallyoverride the enacted policy.

In some implementations, the over-ride capability is provided only tousers that have previously agreed not to use the over-ride capabilitywhen the user is actually driving or should not use the device for someother reason. Preferably, the user is required to sign or agree to astatement to this effect, and this information is stored as part of auser's profile managed by the access network. The wireless device isthen configured to allow or disallow user over-rides as a function ofthe user profile, and more particularly as a function of whether or notthe profile indicates the over-ride function is allowed for that user.

In other implementations, the opportunity to over-ride the automaticdisabling of device features is not provided to the user. In yet otherimplementations, the user is conditionally provided an opportunity tooverride the automatic disabling of device features. For example,depending on the physical position and/or physical speed, some devicefeatures may be disabled with no opportunity to enable them while otherdevice features may be enabled upon a user-override. For example, auser-override may enable hands free telephony, but not telephony withouta hands-free set. Other implementations are possible.

In some implementations, the automatic enabling or disabling of featuresis executed in accordance with appropriate operation and/or legalrequirements. Legal requirements may be geographically dependent.Accordingly, the operation of the wireless device may be geographicallydependent. Therefore, in addition to physical speed, the wireless devicemay determine and consider the physical position of the wireless deviceso that the physical position may be considered when determining theoperating state. For example, if it is illegal to use a wireless devicewhile driving in California and the wireless device determines based onits physical position that it is within California, then the wirelessdevice may automatically disable telephony if the physical speed isgreater than 10 km/hr. Other jurisdictions may have different legalrequirements. Therefore, a wireless device may operate differently inone jurisdiction than in another.

In the above example, the physical speed and geographical position areused to determine an operational state. In another example, thedefinition of the operating states as a function of speed can bere-defined on a geographical basis, as the operation and/or legalrequirements may differ in different coverage areas. In someimplementations, the definition of the operating states is communicatedto the wireless device from a communications node upon entering a newgeographical region. In some implementations, the communication is inresponse to a request by the wireless device. In other implementations,the communications node initiates the communication.

In some implementations, within a geographical region, there arespecific geographical areas of interest, for example a train track. If auser is a passenger on a train, then the wireless device may determinethat it is in the vicinity of a train track based on its physicalposition and may therefore operate differently than if it were not inthe vicinity of the train track. For example, the wireless device maynot disable any device features despite determining a non-zero physicalspeed. In such situations, there may be no need to determine thephysical speed of the wireless device.

In some implementations, the wireless device is triggered by othersituations to operate differently. For example, if the wireless devicedetermines that the user is traveling in an air plane, then the wirelessdevice operates differently than if the user were traveling in anautomobile. There are many ways that the mobile device may determinethat the user is travelling in an air plane. In some implementations,the mobile device determines that the user is travelling in an air planeif its physical speed is greater than a predefined value, for example200 kph. In other implementations, the mobile device determines that theuser is travelling in an air plane if its physical position indicates anelevation that is greater than a predefined value, for example 10,000feet. In other implementations, the mobile device determines that theuser is travelling in an air plane if its physical speed is greater thana predefined value and its physical position indicates an elevation thatis greater than a predefined value.

Informing Other Users

The ability to automatically enable or disable device features as afunction of the physical speed has been described. This may for examplebe used to disable telephony for a user that is driving an automobile.However, this may render the user unresponsive to communications byothers who do not understand that communication is inappropriate orimpossible. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the wireless deviceinforms other users that communication is inappropriate or impossible.

Referring now to FIG. 4, shown is a schematic of a network in which aset of communications devices 42,45 is coupled to a communications node40 by respective couplings 44,47. The set of communications devicesincludes a communications device 42 and a wireless device 45 and mayinclude other communications devices, but they are not shown for sake ofsimplicity. The communications device 42 may be any appropriatecommunications device, such as a wireless device or a wired device. Eachcommunications device 42,45 preferably has a respective operating statefunction 43,46. The communications node 40 has a status informationfunction 41. The network may have other components, but they are notshown for sake of simplicity.

In operation, each communications device 42,45 is preferably adapted tocommunicate status information to the communications node 40 via therespective couplings 44,47. The status information function 41 maintainsthe status information for the communications devices 42,45. In someimplementations, the status information function 41 makes the statusinformation of a given communications device (e.g. wireless device 45)available to another communications device (e.g. communications device42). In some implementations, a communications device is allowed accessto another communications device's status information only if there ispermission to do so. Further details of accessing another communicationsdevice's status information are provided with reference to FIG. 6. Inother implementations, the status information function 41 processesrequests for communication based on the status information. Furtherdetails of processing requests for communication are provided withreference to FIG. 7.

There are many possibilities for the status information. In someimplementations, the status information includes the physical positionand/or physical speed of the wireless device. In some implementations,the status information includes an indication that the wireless deviceis not able to process communications. In some implementations, thestatus information includes an indication of the operating state of thewireless device. For example, in some implementations, the statusinformation indicates that the user is “driving” when it has beendetermined that the user is driving. In some implementations, the statusinformation includes an indication that the wireless device istravelling. Other implementations are possible.

There are many possibilities for the communications node 40. In someimplementations, the communications node 40 is a relay. In otherimplementations, the communications node 40 is a server. A“communications node” in the context of this application generallyrefers to any node in communication with one or more wireless devices.

It is to be understood that the illustrated example is merely an exampleand that other components or arrangements are possible to that shown.Other wireless devices may be present. The couplings 44,47 may be via awireless access network (not shown). The operating state functions 43,46and the status information function 41 may each be implemented assoftware, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 5, shown is an example method of communicatingstatus information to a communications node. This method may beimplemented on a wireless device, for example by the operating statefunction 43 of the wireless device 45 shown in FIG. 4. At step 5-1 thewireless device determines the status information. At step 5-2 thewireless device communicates the status information to thecommunications node.

There are many ways in which the wireless device may communicate thestatus information. In a first implementation, the wireless devicecommunicates the status information periodically. This may occur forexample whenever the status information is determined. In a secondimplementation, the wireless device communicates the status informationin response to a request by the communications node for the statusinformation. In a third implementation, the wireless device communicatesthe status information upon a change in its operating state. In a fourthimplementation, combinations of the first three implementations areemployed. Other implementations are possible.

In some implementations, the status information is associated withpermissions that identify users that may access the status information.In some implementations, the wireless device determines which users haveaccess to the status information and communicates this information tothe communications node.

There are many ways that the permission information may be communicated.In some implementations, the permission information is communicated upona user update to the permissions. In a second implementation, thepermission information is communicated along with the statusinformation. In a third implementation, the permission information iscommunicated whenever the user updates the permission information orwhenever the status formation is communicated. Other implementations arepossible.

Referring now to FIG. 6, shown is an example method of accessing thestatus information based on the permission information. This method maybe implemented on a communications node, for example by the statusinformation function 41 of the communications node 40 shown in FIG. 4.At step 6-1, the communications node determines whether a wirelessdevice has permission to access the status information of anotherwireless device based on the permission information. If the wirelessdevice has permission, then at step 6-2 the wireless device may accessthe status information of the another wireless device. The user of thewireless device may decide whether to call the user of the anotherwireless device based on the status information. However, if thewireless device does not have permission, then at step 6-3 the wirelessdevice cannot access the status information of the another wirelessdevice.

Referring now to FIG. 7, shown is a flowchart of an example method ofautomatically processing a request based on the status information. Thismethod may be implemented on a communications node, for example by thestatus information function 41 of the communications node 40 shown inFIG. 4. At step 7-1, the communications node receives status informationof a wireless device. At step 7-2, the communications node receives arequest from a communications device to communicate with the wirelessdevice. At step 7-3, the communications node automatically processes therequest based on the status information.

There are many ways for the communications node to automatically processthe request from the communications device based on the statusinformation. For example, in some implementations, if the communicationsdevice transmits an electronic message such as an email message to thewireless device while the user of the wireless device is driving, thenan auto reply message indicating that the user is unavailable isgenerated and transmitted to the communications device. The auto replymessage could for example state “I'm sorry but I'm unavailable torespond to your message at the moment. I'll get back to you as soon aspossible.” In specific implementations, the auto reply message isgenerated and transmitted only if the electronic message that wasreceived is marked as “urgent”. As another example, in someimplementations, if the communications device calls the wireless devicewhile the user of the wireless device is driving, then the call isautomatically routed to a voice mail with a recording indicating thatthe user is unavailable.

In the illustrated example, the communications node provides the statusinformation of the wireless device to the communications device that isrequesting communications. The wireless device may be unaware that thecommunications device is requesting communications. In otherimplementations, the wireless device determines if and how the statusinformation is to be provided to the communications device. Moregenerally, at least one of the wireless device and the communicationsnode determines if and how the status information is to be provided tothe communications device.

In some implementations, there is provided configuration information,such as an IT policy, for defining how to react upon anothercommunications device requesting communications. For example, theconfiguration information can specify auto reply electronic messagesand/or automatic routing to voice mail when it is determined that theuser is driving. In some implementations, the configuration informationis configurable by the user. This could for example allow the user toconfigure auto replies and under what circumstances the auto replies aregenerated and transmitted. Other implementations are possible.

In some implementations, the user of the wireless device can select a“Driving Mode”. This allows the user to specify that they are driving inthe event that the wireless device is not able to make thisdetermination, for example if the wireless device is not GPS-enabled.This also allows the user to achieve the functionality described abovefor indicating that they are unavailable for communications,irrespective of whether the user is actually driving.

Instructing the Communications Node

The ability to inform others that communication is inappropriate orimpossible has been described. However, this may not stop people fromattempting to communicate with the user. For example, those that areunable to access the status information of the wireless device may haveno idea whether the user of the wireless device is able to use thewireless device and therefore may attempt to communicate with the user.Accordingly, in some implementations, the communication node is adaptedto process communications directed to the wireless device in a mannerthat takes into account the operational state of the wireless device.

Referring now to FIG. 8, shown is a schematic of an example wirelessdevice coupled to an example communications node. The wireless device 82has an operating state function 83 and is coupled via coupling 84 to thecommunications node 80, which has a communications function 81.

In operation, the operating state function 82 of the wireless device 82is adapted to instruct the communications node 80 how to processcommunications directed at the wireless device 82. In response, thecommunications function 81 of the communications node 80 is adapted toprocess communications directed to the wireless device 82 in accordancewith the instructions.

There are many kinds of communication that may be directed to thewireless device 82. Accordingly, processing of the communication may bespecific to the type of communication. As a first example, acommunication that can be directed to the wireless device 82 is a datamessage such as an electronic message. In this example, processing thecommunication may include storing the data message until it can betransmitted to the wireless device. In a second example, thecommunication is a voice call. In this example, processing thecommunication may include routing the voice call to a message answeringservice.

Alternatively, the network, having determined or been made aware of theoperating state of a given wireless device, can determine how to processcommunications directed to the wireless device while in that operatingstate.

It is to be understood that the illustrated example is merely an exampleand that other components or arrangements are possible to that shown.Other wireless devices may be present. The coupling 84 may be via awireless access network (not shown). The operating state function 83 andthe communications function 81 may each be implemented as software,hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 9, shown is a flowchart of an example method ofinstructing the communications node to process communications. Thismethod may be implemented on a wireless device, for example by theoperating state function 83 of the wireless device 82 shown in FIG. 8.At step 9-1 the wireless device determines the physical speed of thewireless device. At step 9-2, the wireless device communicates anindication to the communications node to process communications at leastuntil the operating state has changed.

There are many situations in which the operating state may change. Forexample, if a user was driving an automobile, but has since then parkedthe automobile, then the wireless device determines that the user is nolonger driving and the operating state changes accordingly. In someimplementations, the wireless device informs the communications node tostop processing or holding communications. Other implementations arepossible.

Referring now to FIG. 10, shown is a flowchart of an example method ofprocessing communications in the communications node. This method may beimplemented on a communications node, for example by the communicationsfunction 81 of the communications node 80 shown in FIG. 8. At step 10-1,the communications node receives an indication that communicationsdirected to the wireless device are to be processed. At step 10-2, thecommunications node processes communications directed to the wirelessdevice at least until another indication is received indicating that theoperating state of the wireless device has changed. As discussed above,there are many situations in which the operating state may change.

Entities Determining Operating State

In some implementations, a wireless device is adapted to determine itsown operating state. Referring now to FIG. 11, shown is an examplemethod of determining an operating state based on the wireless device'sphysical speed. This method may be implemented on a wireless device, forexample by the operating state function 13 of the wireless device 10shown in FIG. 1. At step 11-1, the wireless device maintains informationuseful for determining its operating state. At step 11-2, the wirelessdevice determines its physical speed. At step 11-3, the wireless devicedetermines its operating state based on its physical speed and themaintained information.

There are many ways that the wireless device can maintain informationuseful for determining its operating state. In some implementations, thewireless device maintains information in a data structure. In someimplementations, the data structure is a database. In someimplementations, the data structure can be provided with updates. As afirst example, if the legal requirements in a certain jurisdictionchange, then the data structure may be updated to reflect those changes.As a second example, if the wireless device travels to a newjurisdiction, then the data structure may be updated to reflect the newjurisdiction. In some implementations, the communications node providesupdates to the data structure.

In other implementations, a communications node is adapted to determineoperating states for wireless devices. Referring now to FIG. 12, shownis an example wireless device 122 coupled to an example communicationsnode 120. The wireless device 122 has an operating state function 123and is coupled via coupling 124 to the communications node 120, whichhas an operating state function 121.

In operation, the operating state function 123 of the wireless device122 is adapted to communicate its physical speed to the communicationsnode 120 so that the communications node 120 may determine an operatingstate for the wireless device 122 based on the physical speed. Theoperating state function 123 operates the wireless device 122 inaccordance with the operating state.

It is to be understood that the illustrated example is merely an exampleand that other components or arrangements are possible to that shown.Other wireless devices may be present. The coupling 124 may be via awireless access network (not shown). The operating state function 121and the operating state function 123 may each be implemented assoftware, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof.

Referring now to FIG. 13, shown is a flowchart of an example method ofcommunicating an indication of physical speed to a communications nodeso that the communications node may determine the operating state of thewireless device. This method may be implemented on a wireless device,for example by the operating state function 123 of the wireless device122 shown in FIG. 12. At step 13-1, the wireless device communicates anindication of physical speed to the communications node. At step 13-2,the wireless device receives an indication of the operating state.

In the above example, the wireless device receives an indication of theoperating state. In this case, the wireless device may operate accordingto the indicated operating state received by the communications node.However, in a second implementation, the communications node does notcommunicate the operating state to the wireless device and thecommunications node operates with the wireless device in accordance withthe operating state. Examples of how the communications node mayaccomplish this are provided below with reference to FIG. 14.

Referring now to FIG. 14, shown is a flowchart of an example method ofdetermining the operating state based on the physical speed of thewireless device. This method may be implemented on a communicationsnode, for example by the operating state function 121 of thecommunications node 120 shown in FIG. 12. At step 14-1, thecommunications node maintains information useful for determining theoperating state of the wireless device. At step 14-2, the communicationsnode receives an indication of the physical speed of the wirelessdevice. At step 14-3, the communications node determines the operatingstate of the wireless device based on the physical speed and themaintained information. At step 14-4, the communications node operateswith the wireless device in accordance with the operating state.

There are many ways that the communications node may operate with thewireless device in accordance with the operating state. In someimplementations, based on the operating state, the communications nodeprocesses communications directed to the wireless device. Examples ofhow this may be accomplished have been provided above. In someimplementations, based on the operating state, the communications nodedisables communications from the wireless device. Other implementationsare possible.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present application arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the applicationmay be practised otherwise than as specifically described herein.

We claim:
 1. A method in a communications node comprising: receivingstatus information of a wireless device; receiving a request tocommunicate with the wireless device; and automatically processing therequest based on the status information; wherein the status informationcomprises at least one of an indication of whether the wireless deviceis travelling, an operating state, physical location, and physicalspeed.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein: the request to communicate withthe wireless device is an electronic message; and automaticallyprocessing the request based on the status information comprisesgenerating and sending an auto-reply message if the status informationindicates that the wireless device is unable to process communications.3. The method of claim 1 wherein: the request to communicate with thewireless device is a voice call; and automatically processing therequest based on the status information comprises routing the voice callto a voice mail if the status information indicates that the wirelessdevice is unable to process communications.
 4. The method of claim 1wherein the status information indicates whether the wireless device istravelling.
 5. The method of claim 1 wherein the status informationindicates the operating state of the wireless device.
 6. The method ofclaim 1 wherein the status information indicates at least one of thephysical location of the wireless device and the physical speed of thewireless device.
 7. A non-transitory computer readable medium havingcomputer readable instructions stored thereon for execution on aprocessor of a communications node so as to implement the method ofclaim
 1. 8. A communications node comprising a status informationfunction adapted to: receive status information of a wireless device;receive a request to communicate with the wireless device; andautomatically process the request based on the status information;wherein the status information comprises at least one of an indicationof whether the wireless device is travelling, an operating state,physical location, and physical speed.
 9. The communications node ofclaim 8 wherein: the request to communicate with the wireless device isan electronic message; and the status information function is adapted toautomatically process the request based on the status information bygenerating and sending an auto-reply message if the status informationindicates that the wireless device is unable to process communications.10. The communications node of claim 8 wherein: the request tocommunicate with the wireless device is a voice call; and the statusinformation function is adapted to automatically process the requestbased on the status information by routing the voice call to a voicemail if the status information indicates that the wireless device isunable to process communications.
 11. The communications node of claim 8wherein the status information indicates whether the wireless device istravelling.
 12. The communications node of claim 8 wherein the statusinformation indicates the operating state of the wireless device. 13.The communications node of claim 8 wherein the status informationindicates at least one of the physical location of the wireless deviceand the physical speed of the wireless device.
 14. A method in acommunications node comprising: receiving status information of awireless device; maintaining privilege information, the privilegeinformation indicating a subset of a plurality of communications devicesthat are allowed to access the status information; and allowing accessof the status information to the subset of the plurality ofcommunications devices; wherein the status information comprises atleast one of an indication of whether the wireless device is able toprocess communications, an operating state, physical location, andphysical speed.
 15. The method of claim 14 wherein the statusinformation indicates whether the wireless device is travelling.
 16. Themethod of claim 14 wherein the status information indicates theoperating state of the wireless device.
 17. A non-transitory computerreadable medium having computer readable instructions stored thereon forexecution on a processor of a communications node so as to implement themethod of claim
 14. 18. A communications node comprising a statusinformation function adapted to: receive status information of awireless device; maintain privilege information, the privilegeinformation indicating a subset of a plurality of communications devicesthat are allowed to access the status information; and allow access ofthe status information to the subset of the plurality of communicationsdevices; wherein the status information comprises at least one of anindication of whether the wireless device is able to processcommunications, an operating state, physical location, and physicalspeed.
 19. The communications node of claim 18 wherein the statusinformation indicates whether the wireless device is travelling.
 20. Thecommunications node of claim 18 wherein the status information indicatesthe operating state of the wireless device.